Method for variable speed gaming

ABSTRACT

A variable speed gaming machine is disclosed with which a player may ad just the speed of game play to satisfy their individual desires. Prior to the start of game play a player can vary the length of time reels spin before they are stopped and/or the player can vary the rotational speed of the reels. An inexperienced slot machine player may want to slow the speed of game play, and an experienced slot machine player may want to increase the speed of game play.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates generally to amusement and gamingmachines and more specifically to gaming machines having rotating reelson which are gaming indicia. The game is started by a player and thereels spin. When the reels stop the displayed indicia are analyzed forwinning combinations of indicia. More particularly, the game is anelectronic game implemented by a game program running on a computer andhaving a video display on which are displayed the rotating reels as wellas other game elements.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the prior art gaming machines in the form of slot machines withrotating reels having indicia such as plums, cherries melons, etceteraare well known in the art. A player places one or more bets andcommences the spinning of the reels by pulling a handle. When the reelsstop spinning the displayed indicia are analyzed for winningcombinations of indicia.

Early slot machines were mechanical devices that had an operating handleto initiate reel spin. These evolved into electromechanical slotmachines. A player pulling the operating handle initiates spinning ofthe reels, resulting in the reels spinning at a generally constantinitial speed, whether the rotation initiating force was producedthrough a strictly mechanical drive mechanism or from an electricaldrive motor or solenoid based drive mechanism. This meant that theinitial speed of rotation or angular velocity that was imparted to thereels was generally constant regardless of the speed with which theoperating handle was pulled.

This purely mechanical operation evolved into electromechanicalimplementations using electronic circuitry to detect the speed ofmovement of the operating handle through its operating stroke andthereafter apply an electrical signal to an electrical motor meansassociated with a reel drive mechanism, where the amplitude of theelectrical signal is proportional to the detected pull speed of theoperating handle and thereby varies the speed of initial rotation thatis imparted to the reels of the gaming machine. The electronic circuitryis also adapted to vary or alter the issuance of the electrical signalsand cause the reels to be stopped, with the duration of the period ofrotation or spin time for each reel varying in accordance with thedetected speed of the pulling of the handle. Whether purely mechanical,or electro-mechanical, such approaches to implementing player control ofreel spin speed are very complex and costly.

Many modern slot machines do not utilize mechanical orelectro-mechanical reels or mechanisms, or pull handles. Instead theyare electronic video games that utilize a game program running on acomputer having a video display of the rotating reels and on-screenbuttons and other displays that are touched to provide player input tothe gaming machine and feedback to the player. The ability of a playerto affect personal control of the spin of the reels of the slot machineis lost because there is no pull handle that may be pulled at differentspeeds to effect personal control of the spinning of the reels.

Typical prior art slot machines take a predetermined amount of time toget all the reels spinning, the spin of each reel takes a predeterminedamount of time, and takes a predetermined amount of time to stop each ofthe spinning reels. These times are cumulatively called the speed ofgame play. The speed of game play is fixed and is picked to satisfy anaverage person. However, inexperienced slot machine players often findthe speed of game play too fast and an experienced slot machine playerfinds the speed of game play too slow.

Thus, there is a need in the art for a new, simple and less expensiveway to provide a player a way to control the speed of game play on anelectronic slot machine game with a video display to meet their ownindividual tastes as to the speed of game play.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The need in the prior art for a new, simple and less expensive way toprovide a player a way to control the speed of game play on anelectronic slot machine with a video display is satisfied by the presentinvention. There is no pull handle, with associated complex and costlymechanical or electromechanical mechanism, for a player to pull to playthe same or to affect control over the speed of spin of the reels ofslot machine. This is particularly advantageous to elderly or otherpeople who have arthritis or other joint problems that make it difficultor impossible for them to raise their arm and pull the handle of a slotmachine. Even if a player has some shoulder and elbow joint mobilityproblems continuous pulling of a handle over a period of time results inpain in those joints.

As mentioned in the Background of the Invention typical prior art slotmachines typically have a fixed, average speed of game play that doesnot satisfy all players. With the present invention a player has theability to select the speed of game play. The player can vary the lengthof time the reels spin before they are stopped, and/or they call varythe rotational speed of the reels during game play. An inexperiencedslot machine player can slow the speed of game play, and an experiencedslot machine player can increase the speed of game play, to satisfytheir individual desires.

To implement the present invention with an electronic slot machine withvideo display a new combination on-screen button and display entitled“Speed” is provided. Each time a player touches the on-screen Speedbutton the display integrated with the button steps through a number ofspeed settings in a cyclical manner. The display integrated with thebutton indicates that the player has selected one of a plurality ofspeed of game play settings. At the slowest speed of game play settingthe length of time that the reels spin before stopping is the longestand the reels of the video slot machine individually spin at a slowestrotational rate of speed. At the highest speed of game play setting thelength of time that the reels spin before stopping is the shortest, andthe reels of the video slot machine individually spin at the fastestrotational rate of speed. The electronic slot machine monitors the touchof the Speed button and records the player's choice of speed of gameplay before game play commences. At the commencement of each round ofgame play the software program implementing the slot game uses theplayer selected speed of game play to spin the reels accordingly.

An experienced player will most likely want to play the slot game fasterin order to increase their odds of winning over a given period of timeand will select to play at the fastest selectable speed of game play. Acasual player that is playing for fun as well as to win will most likelychoose to play at a slower rate of game play that is most enjoyable tothem. All players are satisfied.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The invention will be better understood upon reading the followingDetailed Description in conjunction with the drawing in which:

FIG. 1 shows the display screen of an electronic video implementation ofa slot machine incorporating the teaching of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a computer based system used toimplement an electronic video implementation of a slot machineincorporating the teaching of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of steps in a software gameprogram used to implement the teaching of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In FIG. 1 is shown the display screen of a computer controlled videoimplementation of a slot machine incorporating the teaching of thepresent invention. Some standard features of a slot machine that arewell known in the art are deliberately not shown in FIG. 1 to avoiddetracting from the teaching of the present invention and to avoidcluttering the drawing. They are as follows. Typically there is a slotfor inserting coins or tokens for placing a number of wagers or bets fora round of game play. In addition, there may be a slot for the insertionof a debit card from which the game debits the number of wagers or betsplaced by a player, and to which the game credits any winnings. Theseare shown as Money/Card Sensor 22 in FIG. 2. Also, if there is a slotfor insertion of coins or tokens there will be a tray into whichwinnings in the form of coins or tokens are dispensed. This is shown asPayoff Device 23 in FIG. 23. The video screen display may includeinformation such as, but not limited to, copyright and trademarknotices, manufacturer of equipment, name of game, fancy graphics, and anindication of winnings at the end of each round of game play. Only thewinnings indication is shown at display block 18.

On display screen 10 are shown five reels R1-R5 each with three rows oftypical slot machine symbols. The symbols show are a bell, plum,strawberry, watermelon, cherries, and the number 7. More, less ordifferent slot symbols may be used. There are several on-screendisplayed buttons 14-17, display blocks 11, 12 and 18, and a combinationbutton/display block 17. Other buttons and display blocks may bedisplayed on display screen 10 that are not necessary to theunderstanding of the present invention so they are not shown in FIG. 1so as not to detract from the description of the present invention.Display block 12 indicates the number of credits a player has as readfrom a debit card inserted into the slot machine before commencement ofplay. Display block 11 indicates the number of bets placed, or pay linesselected to be played, by player for each round of game play. Bet Upbutton 15 is used by a player to select a number of wagers or bets beingplaced on a round of game play. This may apply when there is a singlewinning line on the 3×5 display of slot symbols, or when a player isselecting multiple ones of a plurality of predefined pays lines throughthe 3×5 display. Each time Bet Up button 15 is touched the number ofbets shown in display block 11 is incremented. In a converse manner aplayer touches on-screen Bet Down button 16 to decrease the select anumber of wagers or bets being placed on a round of game play. Each timeBet Down button is touched the number of bets shown in display block 11is decremented. A player may also touch on-screen button Bet Max button14 to place the maximum number of wagers or bets on a round of gameplay. For example, with the description herein there are a total of ninepay lines that may be played by a player. Nine pay lines is only anexample and the actual number of pay lines may be higher, such astwenty-seven. The player may touch Bet Up button 15 nine times to playall nine pay lines and each time button 15 is touched the numberdisplayed in block 11 is incremented up to the maximum of nine.Alternatively, the player may touch Bet Max button 14 once and thenumber nine is displayed in block 11 indicating that the maximum numberof pay lines have been selected to be played. When game play commencesthe number of wagers or bets shown in block 11 is subtracted from thenumber of credits the player has as shown by the number displayed indisplay block 12. With the numbers shown in blocks 11 and 12, after theplayer commences game play the number of bets shown in block 11 will bedecremented from the 900 credits shown in block 12 to read 893 creditsremaining. There is also an on-screen Start button 17 which a playertouches after they have placed their wagers or bets, and has selected aspeed of game play, to commence a round of game play. At the end of around of game play any winnings that a player has won are displayed indisplay block 18. In FIG. 1 the number fifteen is displayed forillustration only even though a game has not yet been played.

In accordance with the teaching of the invention there is a new Speedbutton/display 13 that is used by a player prior to the start of gameplay to indicate the speed of game play at which they wish to play theslot game. Button/display 13 has a total of seven circles of differentsize displayed thereon in ascending order of size, as shown in FIG. 1,indicating the player selected speed of game play, but may have more orless circles. Each time a player touches button 13 the number of circlesdisplayed is incremented until all seven circles are displayed as shown.The display of seven circles indicates that the fastest speed of gameplay has been selected. Upon the player touching button 13 again thedisplay reverts to display only one circle, the smallest circle,indicating that the slowest speed of game play has been selected by theplayer.

One set of examples of the speed of game play that are represented bythe circles in Speed display/button 13, but by no means tie exclusiverange or levels of speeds of game play, are shown in the followingTable 1. While three of the seven possible speeds of game play levelsare shown the other levels are easily derived by interpolating betweenthe numbers given. TABLE 1 Slowest Speed (1 circle) Period of gameplay - 30.0 seconds Start Reel 1 Spin - 3.0 seconds Start Reel 2 Spin -5.0 seconds Start Reel 3 Spin - 7.0 seconds Start Reel 4 Spin - 9.0seconds Start Reel 5 Spin - 11.0 seconds Spin Reel 1 - 15.0 seconds SpinReel 2 - 16.0 seconds Spin Reel 2 - 17.0 seconds Spin Reel 2 - 18.0seconds Spin Reel 5 - 19.0 seconds Reel Rotational Speed - 1Intermediate Speed (4 circles) Period of game play - 14.0 seconds StartReel 1 Spin - 3.0 seconds Start Reel 2 Spin - 3.5 seconds Start Reel 3Spin - 4.0 seconds Start Reel 4 Spin - 4.5 seconds Start Reel 5 Spin -5.0 seconds Spin Reel 1 - 5.0 seconds Spin Reel 2 - 6.0 seconds SpinReel 3 - 7.0 seconds Spin Reel 4 - 8.0 seconds Spin Reel 5 - 9.0 secondsReel Rotational Speed - 4 Fastest Speed (7 circles) Period of gameplay - 9.0 seconds Start Reel 1 Spin - 3.0 seconds Start Reel 2 Spin -3.5 seconds Start Reel 3 Spin - 4.0 seconds Start Reel 4 Spin - 4.5seconds Start Reel 5 Spin - 5.0 seconds Spin Reel 1 - 2.0 seconds SpinReel 2 - 2.5 seconds Spin Reel 2 - 3.0 seconds Spin Reel 2 - 3.5 secondsSpin Reel 5 - 4.0 seconds Reel Rotational Speed - 7

At the slowest speed of game play (one circle shown), when a playertouches Start button 17 all the reels R1-R5 jiggle for about threeseconds, then the first reel R1 briefly spins slowly, emulating amechanical slot machine, and then the first reel R1 commences spinningat the slowest rotational speed (Reel Rotational Speed-1). Within twosecond thereafter all five reels R1-R5 are spinning. The first reel R1stops after spinning for thirteen seconds. The fifth reel R5 stops afterspinning for twenty-four seconds. Reels R2-R4 stop after spinning forintermediate periods of time as indicated in Table 1. All reels spinvertically at the same, slowest rotational speed when they are spinning.

At the intermediate or middle speed of game play (four circles shown),when a player touches Start button 17 the reels R1-R5 jiggle for aboutthree seconds, then the first reel R1 briefly spins slowly, emulating amechanical slot machine, and then the first reel R1 commences spinningat a faster, intermediate rotational speed. In less than two secondthereafter all five reels R1-R5 are spinning. The first reel R1 stopsafter spinning for six seconds. The fifth reel R5 stops after spinningfor eight seconds. Reels R2-R4 stop after spinning for intermediateperiods of time as indicated in Table 1. All reels spin vertically atthe same, intermediate rotational speed when they are spinning.

At the fastest speed of game play (seven circles shown), when a playertouches Start button 17 the reels jiggle for four seconds, then thefirst reel R1 briefly spills slowly emulating a mechanical slot machine,and then the first reel R1 commences spinning at the fastest rotationalspeed. In about one second thereafter all five reels R1-R5 are spinning.The first reel R1 stops after spinning for two seconds. The fifth reelR5 stops after spinning for three seconds. Reels R2-R4 stop afterspinning for intermediate periods of time as indicated in Table 1. Allreels spin vertically at the same, fastest rotational speed when theyare spinning.

At speeds of game play between those described in the previous threeparagraphs the speed of game play is adjusted accordingly.

An experienced player will most likely want to play the slot game fasterin order to increase their odds of winning over a given period of timeand will select seven circles in block/button 13 in FIG. 1 for thefastest speed of game play. A casual player that is playing for fun aswell as to win will most likely choose to play at a slower rate of gameplay and will choose one or mole circles, depending on rate of game playthat is most enjoyable to them.

In FIG. 2 is shown a block diagram of the electronics used to implementa computer controlled video implementation of a slot machine gameincorporating the teaching of the present invention. The heart of thecomputer controlled slot machine is central processor unit (CPU) 20running a slot machine game program that is stored in memory 21. Thebasic operations of a slot game are well known in the art and are notrepeated here for the sake of brevity. Responsive to the slot machinegame program CPU 20 causes a display on display 10, such as shown inFIG. 1. That display includes the rotation of reels R1-R5 on display 10in FIG. 11 the buttons 13-17, and the information shown in displays 11,12, 13 & 18. Coupled with display 10 is a touch screen 24 that is wellknown in the art and indicates to CPU 20 when and where a player hastouched ones of buttons 13 through 17 displayed on display 10 aspreviously described.

As is described at the beginning of the Detailed Description theelectronic slot machine may have a slot for inserting coins or tokensfor placing a number of wagers or bets for each round of game play.Alternatively, there may be a slot for the insertion of a debit cardfrom which CPU 20 debits the number of wagers or bets placed by aplayer, and to which CPU 20 credits any winnings. These monetaryfunctions are shown at the box entitled Money/Card Sensor 22 which isconnected to CPU 20 to receive indications of coin or token insertions,and to read and write a debit card under control of CPU 20. Also, ifthere is a slot for insertion of coins or tokens there will be a trayinto which winnings in the form of coins of tokens are dispensed. Thistray is shown as Payoff Device 23 which is controlled by CPU 20 todispose winnings in the form of coins or tokens.

Using, touch screen 24 CPU 20 monitors a player touching buttons 13through 17 and responds accordingly to implement pre-game functions aspreviously) described and the start of game play. More particularly, CPU20 monitors the touch of Speed button 13 and records the players finalchoice of speed of game play when game play commences by the playertouching Start button 17. Responsive to the player selected speed ofgame play CPU 20, under control of the slot software program it isrunning, spins reels R1-R5 as previously described with reference toFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of the steps involved in thesoftware program used to implement the teaching of the present inventionin the electronic video implementation of a slot machine, andemphasizing the speed of game play. Basic electronic slot games areknown in the art and it is not attempted to describe the details of howthey are implemented using a program running on CPU 20. Rather, priorart steps are grouped into broad steps Such as Run Slots Program block30, Determine Winnings block 36 and Pay Winnings block 47. The focus inthe block diagram in FIG. 3 is on the implementation of the novel playerselected, variable speed of reels R1-R5.

Referring back to Table 1, therein is shown one example, but not theonly example, of the timing of three of seven player selected speeds ofgame play. They are the slowest, intermediate and fastest speeds of gameplay. Speeds of game play in between these numbers may easily beinterpolated. All speed of game play timing numbers that arepre-determined for game play are stored in memory 21 in FIG. 2. At thestart of a game a set of speed of game play times are recalled frommemory 21 that match the player selected speed of game play (ReelRotational Speed 1-7). The program uses the recalled times to start andstop the reels R1-R5 accordingly for game play.

The video slot machine is a computer as described with reference to FIG.2 and when it is first turned on it boots up, the slot game program isread from memory 21 and is run by CPU 20 at block 30. The slot gamedisplay is placed on display 10 and the computer awaits for a player toplay the slot game. When a person wishes to play the slot game they mustfirst deposit tokens or coins, or insert a debit card, at block 22 inFIG. 2, in manner, well known in the art. At Game? decision block 31 inFIG. 3 the slot program periodically checks for an input from Money/Cardsensor 22 in FIG. 2 to determine when a player has inserted coins,tokens or a debit card. Until that time the program periodically cyclesout of block 31 at NO and backs to its input to again check for theinsertion of coins, tokens or debit card.

After the detection of the insertion of coins, tokens or a debit cardthe program exits Play? block 31 at YES and progresses to Read Buttonsblock 32 where it reads the operation of on-screen buttons 13-17 priorto the player touching Start button 17. The player's final bet isdetected by the operation of buttons 14-16.

A player selected speed of game play is detected by the program as thenumber of times that the player touches Speed button/display 13 prior tothe start of game play. Initially, the number of circles for theprevious round of game play are displayed on Speed button/display 13 andeach time this button is touched by the player the speed of game play isincremented by one step until seven circles are displayed (fastest speedof game play). See Table 1 above. Another touch of Speed button 13 bythe player changes the number of displayed circles to one (slowest speedof game play), and subsequent touches of Speed button 13 increase theCount to two, three, etcetera, back to seven circles. The programresponds to the count of the number of times that Speed button 13 istouched to change the number of circles that are displayed inbutton/display 13.

In this manner a player has the ability to select a speed of game playthat suits their individual desires. An inexperienced slot machineplayer can slow the speed of game play down, and an experienced slotmachine player can increase the speed of game play. The timings of threeof seven player selected speeds of game play are shown in Table 1. Byselecting a particular speed of game play, a player can vary therotational speed of the five reels R1-R5 during game play, vary thelength of time of rotation of the reels spin before they are stopped,and vary length of play of a round of game play.

After a player has placed their bets and has selected their speed ofgame play they will touch Start button 17 in FIG. 1. The touching ofbutton 17 is periodically sensed for by the program at Start Game?decision block 33. As long as the player does not touch Start button 17the program exits block 33 at NO and cycles back to its input. CPU 20continues to watch for the touch of any of buttons 13-17. When theplayer touches Start button 17 the program exits block 33 at YES andprogresses to block 34. No further button touches are sensed andrecorded.

At Read Speed Settings block 34 CPU 20 reads the player selected speedof game play and retrieves the corresponding stored timing figures asrepresented in Table 1. It should be kept in mind that the timingfigures in Table 1 are for only three of the seven possible speeds ofgame play and the other four sets, not shown are also stored and thosetiming figures are interpolated between the timing figures shown inTable 1. In addition, the actual number of steps of player selectedspeeds of game play may be fewer than or more than the seven levelsdescribed herein. Further, the timing figures may be different thanthose shown in Table 1 while not departing from the teaching of theinvention.

The program then progresses to Spin Reels block 35 where the programuses the retrieved timing figures and generates signals that are sent todisplay 10 in FIG. 2 to cause the display of the slot game on display 10at the player selected speed of game play.

At Spin Finished? decision block 36 CPU 20 waits for the end of spinningof the reels R1-R5 which indicates the end of the game and time todetermine any winnings the player may have. Per Table 1 the period ofgame play may be between nine seconds for the fastest speed of game playand thirty seconds for the slowest speed of game play so CPU 20 mustwait accordingly.

When the reels R1-R5 have stopped spinning on display 10 the programprogresses to Determine Winnings block 37 where any player winnings aredetermined. The slot game as described herein has a number of pay linesthat are fixed and are selected by a player by the number of bets thatthey place. If the player places one bet they get one predetermined payline, if they place nine bets they get nine predetermined pay lines, andso forth up to the maximum number of pay lines. The combination of slotsymbols along each of the pay lines played by the player are checked todetermine if there are any winning combinations of slot symbols. Using apay table, not shown but well known in the art, any winning combinationsof slot symbols are used to determine the winnings of the player for theround of game play.

The program then progresses to Pay Winnings block 38 where the winningsof the player are paid. If the video slot machine utilizes coins ortokens a signal is sent to payoff device 23 in FIG. 2 indicating how maycoins or tokens to dispense. If the video slot machine utilizes debitcards, payoff device 23 will increment the number of credits on theplayer's debit card inserted at Money/Card Sensor block 22 in FIG. 2.

A round of game play having been completed, the program being run in CPU20 progresses to Card/Coin? decision block 39 to determine if thepresent player's debit card is still inserted into the debit card slotat Money/Card Sensor block 22, or of if they have inserted additionalcoins or tokens. If the player's debit card has been removed, or if nocoins or tokens are inserted within a finite period of time, the programexits block 39 at NO and goes to the input of Play? decision block toawait a player to insert coins, tokens or debit card. The operationthereafter is as described above. If the player's debit card has notbeen removed, or if coins or tokens are inserted within the finiteperiod of time, it is assumed that the same player is playing and theprogram exits block 39 at YES and goes to the input of Read Buttonsblock 32 to read button operations as previously described.

While what has been described herein is a preferred embodiment of theinvention it will be understood that numerous changes may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Forexample, while a single speed of game play selection described hereindetermines a few factors such as the length of a round of game play andhow long each of the reels will rotate, a variant of the game canprovide a player with the ability to individually change all theseparameters.

1. A method for a player to set the length of time during which aplurality of reels displayed on a video screen of a video gaming machineare to be rotated during game play for a video game being played by theplayer, the method comprising, the steps of: the player providing anindication of the length of time for rotation of the plurality of reelsfor the video game being played before the reels are rotated during playof the video game; and rotating the reels displayed on the video screenfor a length of time corresponding to the player provided indication,wherein a player provides the indication of the length of time forrotation of the reels for the video game to satisfy the player's desireof how to play the video game.
 2. The method in accordance with claim 1for a player to set the length of time during which a plurality of reelsdisplayed on a video screen of a video gaming machine are to be rotatedduring game play further comprising, the step of: determining the actualtime for which the plurality of reels will be rotated responsive to theplayer provided indication; wherein the reels displayed on the videoscreen are rotated for the determined actual time.
 3. The method inaccordance with claim 2 for a player to set the length of time duringwhich a plurality of reels displayed on a video screen of a video gamingmachine are to be rotated during game play, further comprising the stepof: storing a set of times indicating the actual time for which theplurality of reels will be rotated; wherein the step of determining theactual time for which the plurality of reels will be rotated furthercomprises the step of using the player provided indication to retrievestored times to be used in the step of rotating the reels.
 4. The methodin accordance with claim 3 for a player to set the length of time duringwhich a plurality of reels displayed on a video screen of a video gamingmachine are to be rotated during game play wherein the player providedindication includes information of how fast the reels are to be spun andfurther comprising the step of spinning the reels displayed on a videoscreen during game play at a speed of rotation based on the lastmentioned indication from the player.
 5. The method in accordance withclaim 1 for a player to set the length of time during which a pluralityof reels displayed on a video screen of a video gaming machine are to berotated during game play wherein the player provided indication includesinformation of how fast the reels are to be spun and further comprisingthe step of spinning the reels displayed on a video screen during gameplay at a speed of rotation based on the last mentioned indication fromthe player.
 6. A method for a player to indicate how a plurality ofreels displayed on a video screen of a video gaming machine are to bespun during game play for a video game being played by the players, themethod comprising the steps of: the player providing an indication ofhow the plurality of reels are to be spun during game play; and rotatingthe reels displayed on the video screen dependent on the player providedindication to satisfy the player's desire of how to play the video game.7. The method in accordance with claim 6 for a player to indicate how aplurality of reels displayed on a video screen of a video gaming machineare to be spun during game play wherein the player provided indicationindicates the length of time for rotation of the plurality of reels forthe video game being played before the reels are rotated during play ofthe video game.
 8. The method in accordance with claim 7 for a player toindicate how a plurality of reels displayed on a video screen of a videogaming machine are to be spun during game play further comprising thestep of: determining the actual time for which the plurality of reelswill be rotated responsive to the player provided indication; whereinthe reels displayed on the video screen are rotated for the determinedactual time.
 9. The method in accordance with claim 8 for a player toindicate how a plurality of reels displayed on a video screen of a videogaming machine are to be spun during game play further comprising thestep of: storing a set of times indicating the actual time for which theplurality of reels will be rotated; wherein the step of determining theactual time for which the plurality of reels will be rotated furthercomprises the step of using the player provided indication to retrievestored times to be used in the step of rotating the reels.
 10. Themethod in accordance with claim 9 for a player to indicate how aplurality of reels displayed on a video screen of a video gaming machineale to be spun during game play wherein the player provided indicationincludes information of how fast the reels are to be spun and furthercomprising the step of spinning the reels displayed on a video screenduring game play at a speed of rotation based on the last mentionedindication from the player.
 11. The method in accordance with claim 7for a player to indicate how a plurality of reels displayed on a videoscreen of a video gaming machine are to be spun during game play whereinthe player provided indication includes information of how fast thereels are to be rotated and further comprising the step of spinning thereels displayed on a video screen during game play at the indicatedspeed of rotation.
 12. The method in accordance with claim 6 for aplayer to indicate how a plurality of reels displayed on a video screenof a video gaming machine are to be spun during game play wherein theplayer provided indication includes information of how fast the reelsare to be rotated and further comprising the step of spinning the reelsdisplayed on a video screen during game play at the indicated speed ofrotation.
 13. A computer readable medium containing computer executableinstructions for indicating how a plurality of reels displayed on avideo screen of a video gaming machine are to be spun during game playfor a video game being played by a player, the executable programinstructions comprising instructions for: sensing an input from theplayer indicating of how the plurality of reels are to be spun duringgame play; and rotating the reels displayed on the video screendependent on the player provided indication to satisfy the player'sdesire of how to play the video game.